Oakland University is pursuing the commercialisation of its patents as it joins the Michigan Tech Transfer Talent Network where it will gain resource and marketing support from six other universities.
Oakland University has joined the Michigan Tech Transfer Talent Network (T3N) that contains six other universities.
Oakland University joins Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Wayne State University, Western Michigan University and Michigan University that leads the group. The group aims to commercialise technologies developed at any of the member universities by sharing resources and marketing.
Dorothy Nelson, vice-provost for research at Oakland University, said: “It’s not enough for only the well-resourced institutions of Michigan to push their innovations, if we want to elevate the state’s tech game. As they say, “it takes a village”, and to Michigan University’s credit they formed a network where we could share best practices and talent. By sharing that entrepreneurial knowledge and expertise, we all will be better off.”
The first technology patent from Oakland University to be submitted to T3N for commercialisation is a rapid decoupling technology. A proposed use for the technology is a system that decouples the floor in a military vehicle to dissipate the explosive force from an improvised explosive device.
The university currently has 18 patents with seven more pending.
Nelson went on to say: “We at Oakland University are fortunate because we are in an area surrounded by industries that are hungry for new technologies. We have two start-up incubators, one on the main campus and one at Macomb, and our administration is very supportive of the tech transfer drive. We’re just in phase one, but we believe Oakland University is well-positioned to succeed.”
